The Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres both entered Wednesday night's fourth game of the season searching for answers.
For the Senators, it was a chance to rebound from back-to-back losses to Florida and Nashville. For the Sabres, it was about finding any sign of life after an 0–3 start that had some fans in Buffalo wearing paper bags over their heads and calling for their GM's firing.
So Sens fans hoped this game would be a slump-buster. It was, but not for Ottawa.
The Sabres exploded for eight goals — four times more than they'd scored in their first three games combined — in an 8–4 home win over the Senators. Eight different Sabres recorded multi-point nights, with Zach Benson leading the way with four assists and Cobden native Jack Quinn scoring twice.
For Ottawa, it was their third straight loss, dropping them to 1–3–0 on the young season. As they began life without injured captain Brady Tkachuk for a good long while, the team has now allowed 18 goals during their 3-game funk.
The game’s weird tone was set early. Playing his first game as Ottawa’s full-time backup, Leevi Meriläinen was victimized early by the flukiest of goals — a puck that missed the net by a mile, bounced off the end boards, floated over the crossbar, and banked in off his back.
Meriläinen finished with 19 saves in a rough introduction to the new season.
Sens head coach Travis Green was able to find some silver linings.
“It definitely did not feel like an 8-4 hockey game,” Green told the media after the game. “We spent a lot of time in their zone. Some weird goals went in tonight. When you lose a game like that, you hate to say that your team played pretty well. But we did a lot of good things tonight.
"I thought there were a few moments in the game that we got a little loose with our puck play. They got a little momentum on a couple of those goals, especially the short-handed one. And yeah, we've got to stick with the process, though."
The Senators showed flashes of pushback. Shane Pinto continued his hot start with his fifth goal of the season, while Jordan Spence added three assists in another strong performance. But every Ottawa rally was short-lived — undone by defensive lapses and ridiculous bounces.
“There’s some good and some not so good,” said Thomas Chabot. “We got momentum back in the third, scored two big goals, and then right after their timeout, we allow one. That just can’t happen. But a lot of it is our own mistakes — things we can fix as a team.
"It’s frustrating, but we’ve got to stay together and battle through this.”
The Sabres have now won five straight games against the Senators — their longest active streak against any opponent, according to NHL.com.
Drake Batherson, playing in his first game since last spring’s playoffs, admitted that the team was frustrated but focused on moving forward.
“We were outshooting them, outplaying them there for a while,” Batherson said. “But I’ll give them credit — they’ve got some skill, and we gave up some odd-man rushes. And they've got the skill to put it in the back of the net.
"I think any time you lose big like that, it's better when you play the next day, I think. You can kind of forget about it quicker. So we're excited. Get home. And yeah, the best thing is playing the next day and getting right back at it."
That’s exactly what the Sens will have to do when they host the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. Because if Wednesday’s loss to a desperate Sabres team was any indication, the Senators’ own desperation needs to show up fast.
